As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Thursday, July 14, 2022

A column you can sing along to!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/12/will-lindsey-graham-testify-raffensperger/

 

I was tempted to burst into song as I was reading this one into the computer for the Metropolitan Washington Ear yesterday morning, but my better judgment prevailed. I did get to try out my “best” Southern accent at one point, however.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmb7YIKqLeM

 

Monday, July 11, 2022

Busting the filibuster now would be madness

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/06/busting-filibuster-abortion-crazy/

 

“The left’s thirst for Senate Democrats to do something about Dobbs is understandable, but the reality is that weakening the filibuster would simply open the door for Republicans to pass their own, far-more-punitive federal restrictions once they inevitably return to power.”

“Republican visions of an abortion-free America will turn very real if the Democrats pursue this goal. Just two years ago, when Donald Trump was president, 53 senators voted to advance a 20-week abortion ban and 56 senators backed a Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would have created criminal penalties for doctors who failed to follow new federal standards after procedures went awry. In 2015, 53 senators voted to ban federal funding for Planned Parenthood. In 2006, 57 senators voted to make it a federal crime to transport a minor across state lines to get an abortion without notifying her parents in advance.”

 

Monday, July 4, 2022

July 3, 2022 – Marlins 7, Nats 4 (10 innings)

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/marlins-vs-nationals/2022/07/03/662486#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=wrap,game=662486

 

Time: 3:51

Attendance: 25,385

 

The drive down and back was easy, the pre-game taco platters were good, and the weather was pleasant in the shade, although quite hot otherwise. The game provided plenty of drama, but an ultimately unsatisfying result against the visitors from Florida.

 

Washington starter Erick Fedde’s pitch efficiency varied from inning to inning, but he kept the Nats in the game for six innings, giving up a run in the third in an inning that could have been much worse, and then a solo homer by Luke Williams (his first of the year) in the fifth.

 

In the meantime, the home team’s “offense” had runners on base in each of the first four innings, three of which ended on double plays. Miami starter Pablo López set the Nats down 1-2-3 in the next two innings. By the end of the sixth, Washington was not only scoreless, but hitless as well.

 

The López magic vanished in a hurry after the seventh-inning stretch – Josh Bell double, Nelson Cruz single, Luís Garcia double. Three batters later, when it looked like the tying run might be stranded on third base, Ehire Adrianza sent a fly ball to center that was more than deep enough to score the slow-footed Cruz. One inning later, Bell powered a no-doubt-about-it homer to left that gave Washington a 4-3 lead.

 

Closer Tanner Rainey retired the first two batters in the top of the ninth, and twice came within a single strike of nailing down the win. The first time, he wound up walking Avisail Garcia, missing with three straight sliders after getting ahead 1-2. Jesús Sánchez then hit one out to right on a misplaced 2-2 fastball, putting Miami back in the lead.

 

The Nats did tie things back up in the bottom of the ninth, on a two-out Víctor Robles single following a hit batter, a walk, and a force play at second. Unfortunately, the visitors kicked off the tenth inning with four straight singles off the normally-reliable Carl Edwards Jr., and the Nats were unable to conjure up a final rally.